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Angst (Fear)
No other "invention" of the Nazi regime was so dear to Hitler as extermination camps. His devilish plans of a state of masters and slaves were most clearly carried into effect in the K.Z.-s'1' The basic principle of the great Hitlerism empire, made up of Ubermanschen2 ''and ''Untermenschen3 had to be die Angst, -- the fear, the terror, the fright. The people in the empire -- masters and slaves -- all alike had to tremble with fear, had to be fright need to death. Death even, the Nazis' main profession was considered nothing more than an efficient way to scare people out of their wits. The goal to be pursued -- fear, anxiety, dread. In an order issued on December 12, 1941 Keitel expressly pointed out: "The Führer ''believes that penal servitude for life would be considered a sing of weakness. It is only death penalty that can strike true terror". But to have set up the reign of ''die Angst ''did not gratify Hitler: he even attempted to work out a theory on the necessity of fear. "Cruelty commands -- he yelled -- people need to feel salutary fear. They want to have something to be afraid of. They want to be frightened, to obey someone out of fright. Watt's all this rubbish about cruelty, these complaints of tortures? The mob wants it. They need to tremble". Hitler was very fond of the concentration camps because their ''die Angst ruled all-powerful. It penetrated the detainee's flesh and blood together with the air they breathed. The'' Häftlings ''were afraid of the''' Blockälteste, of the ''Lagerälteste4, of the '''''Kapo, of the wolf dogs and of the'' SS. ''They were afraid of the riding whip, of the cudgel, of Bock5, of Baum6'' and of ''Bunker7. The'' Häftlings ''were afraid of the electric current conducting barbed wire, of the gas chambers and crematoria. They were afraid of beatings, tortures, of begin shot into the nape of the neck, of being hanged. The'' Häftlings ''were afraid of Appell8, ''of ''Blocksperre9, of selections, of diseases and of Experiments and lebendingen Menschen'1'''0. '''They were afraid of the light of day and of the dark-ness of the night, of what they knew or did not know it would happen. The Häftlings'' were particularly afraid of death. They wanted to live, but the extermination camps belonged to the empire of death. And yet, despite the anticipations of Hitler and Himmler and of the whole gang of ''SS''-men, as time went by ''die Angst'' fear -- began to subside. The'' Häftlings'' got used to everything, even to death. They were no longer trembling with fear when summoned to the ''Bunker'' for cross-examination, nor when selections were ordered, nor when seeing the cart in which the corpses from the platform between the barracks were loaded. One thing alone they continued to fear till the moment they were set free. Something that Hitler and Himmler the whole pack of ''SS''-men had never thought has, nor could understand. Till the moment they were set free, the ''Häftlings''''' were terribly afraid not to forget in that hellhole of all possible and impossible atrocities called concentration camp -- that they were human. They were afraid not to degenerate, not to degrade as human beings. ---- 1 Konzentrations lagers, concentration camp. 2 Supermen. 3 Subhumans. 4 Camp chief. 5 The trestle the detainees lay on when whipped. 6 The pillar the detainees where hanged of by their hands twisted behind. 7 Torture block. 8 Roll-call. 9 Closing of the barracks. 10 Experiments on living people.